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FAO West Bank and Gaza Strip Newsletter - February 2009

As the shaky ceasefires announced in Israel and Gaza on 17 and 18 January continue, FAO staff and partners can survey the full extent of the damage inflicted on agricultural property and assets by the recent armed conflict in the Gaza Strip. Operation Cast Lead, lasting from 27 December until 17 January, is estimated to have caused hundreds of millions of dollars’ damage to the public and private infrastructure of the Gaza Strip, and the agricultural sector is no exception to this. FAO estimates that almost all of Gaza’s eleven thousand smallholder farms suffered damage, with thousands of them severely affected or even completely destroyed, whilst many of the three thousand Gazan fishing families have also seen their equipment and assets damaged beyond repair.

In response to this crisis, and to prevent food security levels from slipping lower, FAO and its partners in agriculture intend to implement a number of emergency interventions through the Gaza Flash Appeal, helping Gazan farmers recover their livelihoods and providing much-needed nutritious food for the Gazan market.